ATEX SOLUTIONS

Norgren: Your Reliable Partner for Maximum Explosion Protection

N orgren has been the leading partner in explosion protection for many years. The protectionof equipment and personnel within potentially explosive atmospheres is of the highest importance to Norgren and we have strongly supported the development of government regulations and technical standards to ensure a high level of safety.In order to apply a single level for health and safety requirements and to overcome barriersof trade within Europe, national regulations for explosion prevention were harmonised in 1975 with the European Frame Directive 76/117/EEC. The new EC Directive 94/9/EC was established in 1994. This Directive is widely known as “ATEX” – which derives from theoriginal working title “ AT mosphère EX plosible”.Since July 1, 2003 only the ATEX Directive remains binding. This means that all Ex equipmentapprovals obtained under previous directives are no longer valid – only devices and safety systems that comply with the ATEX Directive may be allowed onto the market. ATEX Directive 94/9/EC expands earlier guidelines by including non-electric components such as pneumatic actuators specifications. These now have to be certified.Due to these changes, companies have to rely on a number of devices that did not need tobe certified before. Norgren offers an extensive range of ATEX certified products and is undertaking great efforts to extend this range even further. No matter which Ex zones are relevant for your business, Norgren will help you to find the right product and support you with extensive documentation and certificates of conformity – which are already available on www.norgren.com/atex/.In addition to Directive 94/9/EC, which is concerned with the requirements of equipment andprotective systems and is sometimes referred to as ATEX 100A or 95, another directive – 1999/92/EC exists. Sometimes referred to as ATEX 118A or 137, this is concerned with the requirements for the erection, installation and operation of systems.